RAY CHARLES
(Ray Charles Robinson) (1930-2004)
“My music had roots which I'd dug up from my own childhood, musical roots buried in the darkest soil.” There are many performers to whom the epithet “the late great” applies, but none more so deserving than Ray Charles. After losing his sight at age six (following the trauma of witnessing his brother drown) he went on to become a popular rhythm and blues singer of the 1950s, and to pioneer the soul revolution of the 1960s. Although he exerienced chart success in the 1950s, his breathrough came with the hot-gospelling drive of What'd I Say, which he followed with gilt-edged hits like Hit The Road Jack and Unchain My Heart in the early 1960s, the country-influenced ballad I Can’t Stop Loving You, and in 1963, Busted, and That Lucky Old Sun. He also recorded one of the most popular versions ever of Georgia. The recipient of a dozen Grammy Awards, he was a powerful influence on the generation to come, including Joe Cocker and Van Morrison. His life and work were celebrated in the acclaimed 2004 bio-pic Ray. “I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great. “

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